poet | editor | designer | creative

Tag: sexism

I feel like writing about women, as if we are opposed from any other vessel of human emotion or blood and guts or sex. I am no fragile fuckin flower, but I fuck. I outwork some men and I wear it on my teeth. Social construct, I learned the term from liberal arts school–I wear it as a brand on my breast plate—that rigid bone you have to break to save lives. I’ve had more men cry on my shoulder, clutch me as they shudder— than women confide in me. I hold my shoulders straighter than I ever have, eat my emotions to hold me over for dinner. I don’t need to feed another off these breasts. I’ll feed myself.

Honestly… this is inspired mostly from watching Girl Code and too much wine. I’ve only watched the show in the past couple days and seriously… that shit is hilarious. I could legitimately throw in my liberal arts education as well. I had one professor in particular—he was raised by his mother and grandmother and doesn’t believe in gender roles. He taught me so much. He wrote one of my recommendations for grad school so I love him eternally.

Being a female assistant manager of a tool store is a task and a half. I deal with disrespect, borderline (&blatant) sexual harassment, and ignorance every day. So, why would I stay?

Excellent question.

1. The economy is in the toilet. No one will hire me for anything else. Retail is my only job experience, except for lifeguarding! I was so a lifeguard in high school.

2. My boss is an incredible man that fought to get me promoted to my position. He’s understanding and supportive, hilarious, and most importantly a diehard Redskins fan as well.

3. I am compensated well. My benefits are fantastic.

That being said, I despise retail. Some customers have serious problems accepting answers from a woman, much less one that is at times half or a quarter of their age. They cannot fathom that I have legitimate knowledge about tools. My boyfriend and friends are metal workers and backyard mechanics. I applied for the job because of my experience with them.

Customer never cease to amaze me with what they deem appropriate to say to me. Whether they “want the real manager” or they’re “going to stand here and stare at that red head all day” to telling me, “You’re smarter than I thought!” and telling me “Oh don’t lift that, that’s too heavy for you!” (whether it’s ten pounds or eighty) I can lift 150 and move 200.

Its demeaning and infuriating. I come from a very long line of very strong, intelligent women… and I am far too stubborn to stand by quietly and complacently while I am blatantly insulted. however, I am under the obligation of my job to provide excellent customer service!

so How do I manage? Sometimes all I can do is prove them wrong by answering their question and surpassing the expectations that they hold for my male counterparts. WOMEN ARE FANTASTIC. and People should know that!

I am also eternally on a job search.

I want men to respect women regardless of age and occupation. There’s no reason why I can’t sell a welder with more product knowledge than anyone I work with—even the 50+ year old men I work with. but I get dismissed by customers that do not know anything.

&Must I go into how many times I get hit on in a day? It’s gross and unbecoming of their character. That gets an eye roll or a death glare. I try to walk away and ignore them. There is some serious creepy going on in that store though. Some coworkers have had to deal with legit stalker-type behavior. There are a couple customers that I have to completely avoid because of how uncomfortable they make me. It’s ridiculous and unfair.

So long as I or my other female coworkers have to deal with this behavior—I don’t want to hear that men and women are equal and everything is copasetic. It’s not.